Winding machine traverse mechanism



April 19, 1960 L. LORENZ mums MACHINE TRAV ERSE MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 23, 1955 INVENTOR LEO LORENZ FIG. I

ATTORNEYS April 19, 1960 L. LORENZ WINDING MACHINE TRAVERSE MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 23, 1955 kunwli E 25 E ii! is FIG.

INVENTOR LEO LORENZ BY (5...; fame w. i/ '7 ATTORNEYS April 19, 1960 L. LORENZ 2,933,255

WINDING MACHINETRAVERSE MECHANISM Filed Sept. 23, 1955 s Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR LEO LO R EN Z ATTORNEYS 2,933,265 Fatented Apr. 19, 1.960

2,933,265 WINDING MACHINE TRAVERSE MEHANISM Leo Lorenz, Muskegon, Mich, assignor to Anaconda Wire and Cable Company, a corporation of Delaware Application September 23, 1955, Serial No. 536,151 Claims. (Cl. 242-158) This invention relates to an improved winding machine for winding wire on a spool and is particularly concerned with a control element for assuring that the wire completely fills the spool despite distortion of the end flanges of the spool.

In drawing fine copper wire, it is normally fed from the drawing machine to a winding machine where it is wound onto a standard spool. Spools for this purpose are usually made of heavy material so that they will be rugged and unlikely to become deformed. Nevertheless, the flanges of these heavy duty spools frequently deform synnnetrically about the spools axis to a slight degree so that they become more widely spaced at their outer edges than adjacent to the spool barrel. The convex flaring of the spool flanges has presented a serious problem inasmuch as it is convenient to employ a traverse mechanism to distribute the wire on the spool and to set the traverse mechanism so that it moves between fixed limits defined by the inner surface of undeformed flanges of a spool. Where the flanges of a spool are equally spaced over their entire radius and exactly perpendicular to the axis of the spool and the limits of movement of the traverse mechanism are preset, the wire will be wound neatly layer by layer into a' coil package on the spool which extends from one flange to the other. However, when the flanges are deformed a coil package of the same dimensions is formed so that in the usual case it does not extend into contact with the flanges. As a consequence of the gap which exists between each end of the coil package and its adjacent flange, particularly in the case of very fine wires, there has been a tendency for the ends of the coil package at various levels to slip into the gap and produce tangling of the Wire. The problem has beenso serious that in most instances where tangling occurs the whole spool of wire must be scrapped.

Unsymmetrical deformation of the spools will be readily detected by inspection and rejected, since unsymmetrical spools cannot ordinarily be reused. Symmetrical deformation, consequence, an unusable coil of wire may be wound. However, in accordance with the present invention, there is no need to sort out symmetrically deformed spools since it is possible to till a spool completely no matter What the spacing of the flanges at a particular radial level. i

In accordance with the present invention a feeler arm is provided to contact the inside surface of a flange and to move to actuate a switch which produces reversal of the movement of the traverse mechanism when the wire in the coil being wound reaches that flange.

The Winding machine is conventional in many respects, to wit: it consists of an arbor for accepting a spool and means producing rotation of the arbor, and a traverse mechanism providing a guide for directing wire onto the spool of the arbor. The motion of the traverse mechanism parallel to the axis of rotation of the arbor may be provided by a variety of means but a hydraulic or an air cylinder is preferred. The means for producing however, may go undetected and, as a movement must be provided with means for reversing the direction of movement of the traverse mechanism. Heretofore the limits of this reversing mechanism would have been preset, but, in this instance, sensing means on the traverse mechanism in the form of the feeler arm and its associated switch means plus whatever associated connections back to the drive means are required are employed. In the case of the hydraulic or air cylinder drive, the switches will commonly actuate solenoids to open and close valves of the cylinder in order to reverse the direction of movement.

Where the feeler arm has lateral movement without radial movement, it is useful to automatically determine the extent of the lateral movement of the traverse mechanism without the need for presetting the traverse mech anism. Even if a machine is to be used for only one size of reel, the feeler arm with only lateral movement is of considerable advantage in that it eliminates the added expense of spacing the flanges of spools to exact dimensions as well as insuring they are positioned at exactly the same position of the spool during each use.

In those instances where it is desired that the present invention compensate for spools which are symmetrically deformed, it is desirable to supply the feeler mechanism with'a radial as well as a lateral movement. This radial movement is produced in preferred embodiments by a linkage between a feeler arm and a coil size speed control lever arm, a structural feature which is frequently used in winding machines.

In addition to advantages which will be apparent from the above discussion, the present invention has the advantages of simplicity and ruggedness. The machine of the present invention is able to be constructed with-relatively few parts, many of which are commercially avail-l able. Furthermore, the machine of the present invention is so designed that it is as rugged as prior art machines despite the inclusion of sensitive control elements. Other advantages will appear from the specific description which follows hereafter.

For a better understanding of the present invention reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a winding machine embodying the present invention from one end with the end enclosure wall removed and showing the arbor and the spool in section along line 11 of Fig. 3;

Fig. Zis a view taken along line 2--2 ofFig. 1 showing a front elevation of the traverse mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1 providing a plan view from above of the feeler arm and the switches of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a side sectional view through the air cylinder of Fig. 1 showing somewhat schematically the valve construction, and showing the mechanical coupling structure between 'the air cylinder and the traverse mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a detailed view taken along line 5--5 of Fig.

3; and Fig. 6

is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

The machine of the present invention is ordinarily its preferred forms it has a combined frame and housing 1b which supports much of the mechanism.

Within the housing It} is a winding arbor 11 of the proper size to receive a spool generally designated '12.

The spools employed for carrying wire are usually relatively heavy rugged structures having which the arbor is received.

The ether 11 is driven by a belt 11' connected to a heavy :gauge' metal barrel 13 and heavy end flanges 14-antl 15,, which are provided with reinforced spindle openings3through1 a variable speed drive means indicated generally at V but which is located in its separate compartment behind the wall supporting the arbor.

The traverse mechanism generally designated 16, is provided with a guide member 17 consisting of a pair of rods which are arranged parallel to each other and between which is passed the wire 18 to be wound on the spool 12. Guide 17 moves with traverse mechanism 16 to cause the wire 18 to wind a single spiral layer at a time into a neat coil package of wire on the spool. The support 19 for the guide 17 is advantageously a cylindrical member of relatively large diameter compared to the diameter of the rods used for the guide and is, in turn, supported generally perpendicular to the traverse mechanism on a slide 20. Slide 20 is slidably supported on heavy rod members 22 and 23. Extending between rod-members 22 and 23 is a rigid rectangular plate 24 and a cooperating reinforcing web piece 25. A similiar plate '26 is placed on the opposite side of slide with another Web piece 27. The structural members of the traverse mechanism are relatively heavy and are arranged generally perpendicular to one another to provide a rigid support for the guide member 17. The guide support member 20 is slidable on rod members 22 and 23, as previously indicated, and its position may be adjusted by means of threaded rod 28 which is held by a suitable piece on member 20 so that it is able to rotate but not to move laterally relative to said member. Threaded rod 28 is threaded through web member and held in any desired position by lock nut 29.

The rod members 22 and 23 are connected at one end by a rigid connection strap 30 to rod 31 on the piston 32 of air cylinder generally designated 33 as is best seen in Fig. 4. The air cylinder 33 is mounted on the top of frame enclosure 10 and is provided with access lines 34, 35 on opposite sides of its piston 32. These access lines may be generally described as valve lines because they include or terminate at valve means in order to control the flow of compressed air to actuate the cylinder. In a preferred construction a solenoid reversing valve 36 is employed. This valve has ports every 90 of revolution, and there are two conduits through the cylindrical block body of the valve each of which connects a pair of adjacent ports. Access lines 34, 35 enter opposite ports of the valve 36 so that one is connccted to compressed air line 37 leading to the compressor or high pressure air supply 37 and the other is open to the atmosphere. By a 90 rotation of the valve, however, the portion of the cylinder on the opposite side of the piston 32 is connected to the compressed air source and the side previously at higher pressure is connected to the atmosphere. Thus, the piston will be urged in the opposite direction. The valve block bears a pinion which is driven by rack 38 in response to pull alternately exerted by solenoids 39 and 40 on their respective magnetic cores which are attached to the rack.

. Piston rod 31 extends through the opposite end of the air cylinder from that at which it is connected to the rigid connection strap 30 and through a hydraulic speed control cylinder 41 which may contain oil or other fluid material of a selected viscosity. A piston 42 moves back and forth within the chamber and its movement is resisted by the fluid therein. It is possible to use a piston which issmaller than the chamber diameter in order to permit the fluid to flow from one side of the piston to the other, which it' must do if the piston rod 31 is to move. However, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention a bypass line 43 from one end of the cylinder to the other is provided with an adjustable needle valve 43a which permits the rate of flow from one side of the piston to the other to be adjusted. Thus, in effect, the cylinder 41 with its piston and bypass line is a speed control device determining the rate of movement'of the traverse mechanism.

It is of course apparent that other forms of speed, control devices, and other means than a pneumatic cylinder for supplying motion power to the traverse mechanism may be used if desired.

The solenoids 39, 40 are actuated by microswitches 44 which are carried by the traverse mechanism on a platform generally designated as 45 (see Fig. 3). This platform is suspended by columns 46 connected to plates 24 and 26. Columns 46 extend through edge members 47 of the platform 45, and these members are joined together at their bottoms by a base plate 48. The edge members 47 are formed with grooves in the faces which lie opposite one another, and a slide member 49 rides in these grooves. Pins 50 (Figs. 3 and 5) which are secured to the slide member extend through slots 51 in plate 48. These pins provide the means by which the slide member is moved toward and away from the spool of wire, as hereinafter described.

Mounted on the slide 49 is a feeler arm 53 which is advantageously a T-shaped member having short lateral arms 53:: and 53b to actuate the microswitches 44. The support for the feeler arm is advantageously a post 54 on which the feeler arm is pivoted, and the arms 53a and 53b are provided with adjustable members 55 and 56 to engage and actuate the switches 44. Balanced spring members 57 and 58 extend between the arms 53a and 53b, respectively, and a vertical support member 59 to hold the feeler arm normally in a position directed substantially radially toward the arbor 11. The vertical support member 59* is bolted or otherwise securely fastened to the slide 49, and is also the member to which the microswitches 44 are attached. On the end of feeler arm 53, oriented generally normal to the arm, is a ball bearing 60, the outer race of which serves as a contact member to engage the flanges 14 and 15 of the spool.

It has become common in the art to control the speed of rotation of the arbor 11 in accordance with the diameter of the coil of wire on the spool by means of a framesupported lever arm 62 having a roller 63 at its end in position to contact the wire coiled onto a spool. The roller is so arranged that upon contact with the wire it actuates a microswitch. The microswitch in turn energizes a solenoid which drives a ratchet causing rotation of the lever arm to a position a slight distance away from the wire and out of contact therewith. This arm is connected to a speed control mechanism which functions to decrease the speed of arbor 11 as the diameter of the coil of wire on the spool increases, thus making it possible to maintain constant the linear speed of feed of the wire 18. Such mechanism forms no part of this invention, but it is used in conjunction with the apparatus of this invention to control the approach of the feeler arm 53 to the coil of wire on the spool.

As shown in Fig. 1, the lever arm 62 is fixed to a shaft 64 which extends through the wall of the housing 10 into engagement through gears 64a, 64b, with the speed control mechanism V for the spool arbor 11. As the diameter of the coil of wire on the spool increases, the arm 62 moves radially outwardly. Pivotally attached by a pin 65 to the arm 62 is a link 66 which is joined by a pivot pin 68 to a lever 67. The lever 67 is supported on the wall of the housing 10 by a pin 69 about which lever 67 fulcrums. indicated at 67a, and fits over a rod 70 carried at the upper ends of supporting arms 71 and 72. The lower. ends of these supporting arms are rotatably connected;

by a rod 75 to brackets 73 and 74 on the floor of the housing 10.

Beneath the support platform 45, the pin members50,

which are secured to the slide member 49 and which extend through the slots 51, embrace the rod 70 rather closely. The pins 50 are attached at their lower ends to a connecting bar 76 to lend the structure increased rigidity. It is apparent that back and forth movement of the rod 70, about its pivotal anchoring in the brackets 73 and 74, causes the slide member 49 to move corre- The other end of the lever 67 is slotted, as

spondingly back and forth on the platforrn45. .By virmo of the link 66 and lever 67,.the slide member 49 and the feeler arm 53 which it carries is moved radially outwardly from the spool in conformity with the similar movement of the speed control arm 62.

A guide sheave 77 is supported (by means not shown) over the housing for guiding the wire 18 onto the spool.

In the operation of the device of the present invention, wire 18 is fed over the sheave 77 through an opening in the housing 10, through the guide 17, onto the spool 12. The arbor 11 is rotated at the correct speed to coil wire 18 without slack. The guide 17, being part of the traverse mechanism 16, is moved laterally back and forth in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the arbor. In the course of its movement, wire is fed evenly onto the spool in a uniform cylindrical packag The lateral movement of the traverse mechanism occurs because piston 32 moves (rather slowly) within cylinder 33 and hence drives rod 31 and strap 3i] which also moves rods 23 and 24, and hence the whole traverse mechanism, laterally. Since platform 49 is connected to the traverse mechanism, it will also move laterally.

The laterally moving feeler arm 53 will contact a flange 15 at one .end of the spool. When it does, race 60 will prevent any interruption of the winding operation due to friction, but the feeler arm will be forced to rotate on its supporting post 54. At the end of its lateral path (substantially the position shown in Fig. 3), one switch 44 is closed, thereby energizing solenoid 39, connecting port 35 to the compressed air source and opening port 34 to the atmosphere. Accordingly, the direction of movement of the piston 32; and hence of shaft 31, reverses, as does the movement of the traverse mechanism, and the movement continues until the feeler arm 53 strikes the other flange of the spool and closes the other microswitch. At that point solenoid 40 is energized, rotating the valve 90 about its axis so that compressed air is again fed through port 34 and again the motion is reversed.

Since the inside surfaces of flanges often become slightly dished, it is usually important that the machine be arranged so that the feeler arm moves radially outward just ahead of the coil package so that the spool will fill to the side walls at every level. In fact, this radial movement preferably keeps the feeler arm barely out of contact with the wire being wound on the spool. Radial movement of the feeler arm is preferably accomplished by coupling the feeler arm to the speed-control lever 62 since it is ordinarily standard equipment in the winding machine. When'this coupling is done through the links and levers described above, the pivot points are preferably so spaced that the feeler arm 53 moves outwardly at the same rate as the speed control lever 62.

Although but a single embodiment of the present invention has been described, other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art. It is possible, of course, to use various features of the embodiment described separately or in various combination. Furthermore, many structural changes are possible and are intended to be within the scope of the present invention.

I claim:

1. A winding machine for coiling wire onto a spool comprising on a supporting frame, an arbor for accepting the spool and means producing rotation of the arbor, a traverse mechanism supported on the frame and including a guide for directing wire onto the spool on the arbor, drive means supported on the frame for producing lateral movement of the traverse mechanism parallel to the axis of rotation of the arbor, means for reversing the direction of movement of said drive means, a pair of switches on the traverse mechanism for actuating the direction reversing means and a feeler arm supported on the traverse mechanism and arranged in a normal position approximately radial to the arbor, said feeler arm having a ball bearing at that end of the arm nearest the arbor, said ball bearing beingarranged generallynormal to the direction of extension of the feeler arm so that its race provides a contact member for the flanges at the respective ends of the spool, and said feeler arm being arranged to cooperate with the switch means so that when the feelerarm contacts one of the flanges of a spool on the arbor, the feeler arm will be moved .out of its radial position and against a switch to cause reversal of the direction of the movement of the traverse mechanism and so that when it contacts the opposite flange the feeler arm will be moved against the other switch.

2. A winding machine for coiling wire onto a spool comprising on a supporting frame, an arbor for accepting the spool and means producing rotation of the arbor, a coilsize, speed-control lever on the supporting frame which lever is connected to the means producing rotation of the arbor to control its speed, a traverse mechanism supported on the frame and including a guide for directing wire onto the spool on the arbor, said traverse mechanism. being mounted so that a portion of it is movable radially toward the arbor and so that it is laterally movable parallel to the arbor, drive means supported on the frame for producing lateral movement of the traverse mechanism parallel to the axis of rotation of the arbor, means for reversing the direction of movement of said drive means, a pair of switches on the traverse mechanism for actuating the direction-reversing means and a feeler arm radially directed toward the arbor mounted on the radially movable portion of the traverse mechanism and movably supported on the traverse mechanism so that when the feeler arm contacts oneside flange it will be urged against one of the switches and so that when said feeler arm contacts the other side flange it will be urged against the other of the switches.

3. A winding machine for coiling wire onto a spool comprising on a supporting frame, an arbor for accepting the spool and means producing rotation of the arbor, a coil-size, speed-control lever supported on the frame and connected to the means for producing the rotation of the arbor to control its speed, a traverse mechanism mounted on the frame to move laterally and having a portion able to move radially of the coil on the spool, said traverse mechanism including a guide for directing wire onto the spool on the arbor, an air cylinder mounted on the frame and having a movable piston therein connected to the traverse mechanism for producing lateral movement of the traverse mechanism parallel to the axis and having valves on opposite sides of the piston for reversing the direction of movement, a supply of compressed air, a solenoid reversing valve for connecting the valves of the air cylinder on the opposite sides of the piston alternatively to the air supply and an exhaust port, a pair of switches on the traverse mechanism for actuating the solenoid reversing valve, and a feeler arm radially directed toward the arbor and movably supported on the radially movable portion of the traverse mechanism so that when said feeler arm contacts one of the flanges of the spool on the arbor, one switch will be actuated and, when it contacts the other flange of a spool on the arbor, the other switch will be actuated.

4. A winding machine for coiling wire onto a spool comprising on a supporting frame, an arbor for accepting the spool and means producing rotation of thearbor, a coil-size, speed-control lever supported on the frame and connected to the means for producing the rotation of the arbor to control its speed, a traverse mechanism mounted to move laterally and having a portion able to move radially of the coil on the spool, said traverse mechanism including a guide for directing wire onto the spool on the arbor, an air cylinder having a movable rotatable piston therein connected to the traverse mechanism for producing lateral movement of the traverse mechanism parallel to the axis of rotation of the arbor and having valves on opposite sides of the piston for reversing the direction of movement, a supply of compressed air, a solenoid reversing valve for connecting the valves of the air cylinder on the opposite sides of the piston alternatively to the air supply and an exhaust port, a pair of switches on the traverse mechanism for actuating the solenoid reversing valve, a feeler' arm radially directed toward the arbor and movably supported'on the radially movable portion of the traverse mechanism so that when said feeler arm contacts one of the flanges of the spool on the arbor, one switch will be actuated and, when it contacts the other flange of the spool on the arbor, the other switch will be actuated, a linkage between the coil-size speed-control lever and the radially movable portion of the traverse mechanism whereby as the lever is moved outward as a result of the increase in size of the coil, the feeler arm will also be moved outward at the same rate, said linkage extending in a plane normal to the arbor and including a rigid link on the coil-size, speed-control lever extending almost to the traverse mechanism, a link pivoted to the rigid link at one end and to the traverse mechanism at the other end, and a link pivotally connected at one end to the traverse mechanism and pivotally connected at the other end to the frame.

5. A winding machine for coiling wire onto a spool comprising on a supporting frame, an arbor for accepting the spool and means producing rotation of the arbor, a coil-size speed-control lever supported on the frame and connected to the means for producing the rotation of the arbor to control its speed, a traverse mechanism mounted on the frame to move laterally and having a portion able to move radially of the-coil on the spool, said traverse mechanism including a guide for directing wire onto the spool on the arbor, drive means supported on the frame for producing lateral movement of the traverse mechanism 8 1 parallel to the axis of rotation of the arbor, means for reversing the direction of movement of said drive means, a pair of switches on the traverse mechanism for actuating the direction-reversing means, a feeler arm radially directed toward the arbor and movably supported on the radially movable portion to the traverse mechanism, so that when said feeler arm contacts one of the flanges of the spool on the arbor one switch will be actuated and when it contacts the other flange of the spool on the arbor the other switch will be actuated, a linkage between the coil-size speed-control lever and the radially movable portion of the traverse mechanism whereby as the lever is moved outwardly as a result of the increased size of the coil the feeler arm will also be moved outward at the same rate, said linkage extending in a plane normal to the arbor and including a rigid link on the coil-size speedcontrol lever extending almost to the traverse mechanism, a link pivoted to the rigid link at one end and to the traverse mechanism at one end, and a link pivotally connected at one end to the traverse mechanism and pivotally connected at the other end to the frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,078,861 Koch Nov. 18,.19l3

1,538,510 Bonk May 19, 1925 1,641,300 Spencer Sept. 6, 1927 2,254,221 Hubbard Sept. 2, 1941 2,626,7 5 Biddison Ian. 27, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 465.742 Italy Sept. 22, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 2,933,265 April 19, 1960 Leo Lorenz It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 1 line 45, for "wires" read wire column 2,

line 56, after "3; and", "Fig. 6 is a sectional View taken along line 66 of Fig, 3." should appear as a new paragraph; column 4, line 6 for "as" read at Signed and sealed this 20th day of September 1960.

SEAL) Attest:

KARL Ho AXLINE ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting ()flicer Commissioner of Patents 

